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Crews May Be Able to Rescue
Hubble With Little Safety Risk

By

Sharon Begley Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated Feb. 20, 2004 12:01 a.m. ET

When NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe announced that the space shuttle would make no more flights to the Hubble Space Telescope, he condemned Hubble to a lingering death from loss of battery power and failing gyroscopes, probably by 2007.

Because Mr. O'Keefe said his decision was based on safety, stunned Hubble fans were left in a bind. It's tough to argue that solving even the most profound mysteries of the cosmos is worth the lives...